Bike having automatic landing wheel apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a bike having an automatic landing wheel apparatus. The bike having the automatic landing wheel apparatus, according to the present invention, comprises: a left landing wheel arm provided on the left side of the bike to vertically move a left landing wheel that is rotatably coupled to the lower end portion thereof; a right landing wheel arm provided on the right side of the bike to vertically move a right landing wheel that is rotatably coupled to the lower end portion thereof; a left driving unit for driving the left landing wheel arm to move the left landing wheel upward and downward; a right driving unit for driving the right landing wheel arm to move the right landing wheel upward and downward; a speed detection unit that detects the speed of the bike; and a controller connected with the speed detection unit, the left driving unit, and the right driving unit to move both or one of the left and right landing wheels upward when the speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds a set speed and to move both or one of the left and right landing wheels downward when the speed detected by the speed detection unit is lower than or equal to the set speed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a bike, and more particularly, to abike equipped with a canopy and an automatic landing wheel apparatuscapable of ensuring maneuverability and flexibility and improvingstability, thereby enabling comfortable riding for people from a widerange of ages.

BACKGROUND ART

An auxiliary wheel device for a two-wheeled vehicle disclosed in KoreanPatent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0030005 is capable ofpreventing the vehicle from falling over and improving travel stability.The auxiliary wheel device includes a damping unit connecting a body ofthe two-wheeled vehicle to an auxiliary wheel and providing a dampingforce for attenuating impact that would otherwise be transmitted to thebody through the auxiliary wheel, and a blocking unit selectivelyblocking the operation of the damping unit by an external operation of auser, wherein the user is allowed to selectively operate the dampingunit through the external operation according to a driving condition

However, as the bike cannot stay balanced when stopped, the auxiliarywheel device for the two-wheeled vehicle is considered a limitedtechnology that does not exhibit a remarkably improved technical effectcompared to a stand that supports the bike. Even if this technology isapplied, it may fail to maintain the bike at the upright position due tounevenness of the ground and strong force applied to the left side orright side of the bike, or the inconvenience caused to the bike ridersby this technology may be greater than convenience provided to the bikeriders when mounted on the bike. Further, when an unexpected strongshock is applied to the auxiliary wheels or the auxiliary wheels hit arelatively large obstacle, there is a risk that the bike will beoverturned by the shock applied to the auxiliary wheels.

In the case of the automatic motor-driven stand apparatus havingauxiliary wheels for safe driving assistance of a two-wheeled vehicledisclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2010-0134988,when the two-wheel vehicle enters a low-speed driving mode, in which itis difficult to balance the body of the two-wheeled vehicle, theauxiliary wheels are unfolded to aid in safe driving while maintainingthe upright position of the body. In addition, the auxiliary wheels aredesigned to enhance stability in balancing the body when the two-wheeledvehicle travels along a road which is inclined to the left or right. Tothis end, the stand apparatus is arranged to support two points at bothsides of a wheel of the two-wheeled vehicle and includes left and rightauxiliary wheels rotatably mounted to support the two points. The leftand right auxiliary wheels are automatically operated to contact theground and support the body in an upright position when the vehiclespeed is lower than a set vehicle speed and are controlled to beautomatically folded to a horizontal position when the vehicle speed ishigher than the set vehicle speed.

However, even this technology may fail to maintain the bike in theupright position due to unevenness of the ground and strong unbalancingforce applied to the left side or right side of the bike or may causeinconvenience to the bike riders. In particular, when an unexpectedstrong shock is applied to the left and right auxiliary wheels or theauxiliary wheels hit a relatively large obstacle, there is a risk thatthe two-wheeled vehicle will be overturned by the shock applied to theauxiliary wheels. In addition, when the left side and the right side ofthe ground are at different heights, the auxiliary wheels must beindividually supported on the ground according to the difference inheight. This operation solely depends on the springs while the auxiliarywheels are driven at the same height in the forward and reversedirections simultaneously by using a wire and a transport means. Even ifthe auxiliary wheels are operated during travel, the horizontallybalanced bike may become significantly unstable due to imbalance betweenthe left and right sides of the ground. In other words, this technologyfails to resolve lateral imbalance, and may require spring tensioncontrol to maintain balance. However, a variable spring tensionmechanism may result in excess complexity and the document onlydiscloses that the auxiliary wheels are raised when the inclination isinappropriate. If the auxiliary wheels are raised in this way, amotorcycle may be overturned immediately.

Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2013-0127718 discloses anauxiliary wheel device for a bike capable of effectively absorbingimpact to provide stable ride comfort and to improve driving stability.The auxiliary wheel device includes an auxiliary wheel portion rotatablyconnected to the body of the bike, a shock absorbing portion forattenuating impact applied to the body of the bike via the auxiliarywheel portion, and a stopper portion for temporarily restrictingrotation of the auxiliary wheel portion with respect to the body of thebike, wherein the restriction imposed by the stopper portion is releasedand the auxiliary wheel portion rotates with respect to the body of thebike when an impact greater than the impact that the shock absorbingportion can bear is applied to the auxiliary wheel portion.

However, the disclosed technology is merely a small and simple mechanismthat is used to sense or check the length and height of a product on asmall conveyor belt or a counter. The disclosed technology needs to beimproved to support a greatly varying load for balancing the bike and tobe applied to a vehicle which moves over uneven terrain and undergoeslarge impact from the ground during travel. The basic design frame ofthis technology is not suitable for a bike whose center of gravityseverely shifts laterally and which is very likely to be laterallyinclined with an excessive load. Further, the technology fails to securestability against change of the ground without hindering open autonomyof the rider's driving.

Although the two-wheeled bike provides open driving autonomy and bettermaneuverability compared to the four-wheeled vehicle and thus exposesthe riders to many risks, bike lovers are growing in number. Due to thenature of bikes, bikes require a lot of technologies to achieve theinherent purpose of mounting the auxiliary wheels while meeting mobilityand flexibility and securing better safety. However, the conventionalauxiliary wheel apparatuses may impose restrictions on the bike rider'sautonomy or have no remarkable improvement except the function ofassisting and supporting the conventional stand. Although there are someadvanced technologies, they are not preferred by the bike riders as theyare not sufficiently controlled in response to independent lateralchange in angle.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is one object of the present invention to provide abike having an automatic landing wheel apparatus that is capable ofsupporting unique mobility and flexibility of the bike, maintaining thebike in the upright position during travel or stoppage of the bike tosecure stability matching that of a four-wheeled vehicle, preventingslippage on icy roads or snow-covered roads to enhance rectilinearmovement, effectively attenuating shock even on irregular ground toenhance ride comfort and stability, and providing an inner space similarto that of a four-wheeled vehicle to eliminate the inconvenience ofwearing a helmet and ensuring safety in the event of collision.

Technical Solution

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, provided is abike having an automatic landing wheel apparatus including: a leftlanding wheel arm provided at a left side of the bike and having a lowerend portion rotatably coupled with a left landing wheel to move the leftlanding wheel up and down; a right landing wheel arm provided at a rightside of the bike and having a lower end portion rotatably coupled with aright landing wheel to move the right landing wheel up and down; a leftdrive unit configured to drive the left landing wheel arm to raise andlower the left landing wheel; a right drive unit configured to drive theright landing wheel arm to raise and lower the right landing wheel; aspeed sensor configured to sense a speed of the bike; and a controllerconnected to the speed sensor, the left drive unit and the right driveunit to raise both or one of the left landing wheel and the rightlanding wheel when a speed sensed by the speed sensor exceeds a setspeed and to lower both or one of the left landing wheel and the rightlanding wheel when the speed sensed by the speed sensor becomes the setspeed or less.

Preferably, the left landing wheel arm has an upper end portionrotatably mounted on a left side portion of the bike so as to verticallyrotate about a shaft extending in a horizontal direction, and the rightlanding wheel arm has an upper end portion rotatably mounted on a rightside portion of the bike so as to vertically rotate about a shaftextending in a horizontal direction, wherein the left drive unit isconfigured to rotate the left landing wheel arm in forward and reversedirections, and the right drive unit is configured to rotate the rightlanding wheel arm in forward and reverse directions.

Preferably, the bike is provided with a canopy having a space foraccommodating a driver, wherein each of both side parts of a rearportion of the canopy includes a side trunk providing a storage spacefor the automatic landing wheel apparatus.

Preferably, a front portion of the canopy includes: a windshield havingan outer surface matching an outer surface of a part of a sphericalbody; a pair of left and right windshield wipers curved in an arc shapeso as to come into close contact with the outer surface of thewindshield; and a windshield wiper driving means configured to drive thewindshield wipers to reciprocate up and down.

The drive unit may include: a cam configured to receive driving force ofa landing motor capable of rotating in forward and reverse directionsand to rotate about a horizontal shaft to push and lower the landingwheel arms; and a pull spring configured to pull the landing wheel armsto raise the landing wheel arms when a shortest distance between arotation center of the cam and the cam and the landing wheel arms isreduced.

The drive unit may include: an air cylinder device capable of raising orlowering a piston rod according to an electric signal, the air cylinderdevice being configured to lower the landing wheel arms when the pistonrod is lowered to push the landing wheel arms; and a pull springconfigured to pull the landing wheel arms to raise the landing wheelarms when the piston rod rises.

Each of the landing wheel arms may have a bent portion having a partbent to have an L shape or a C shape between an upper end portion and alower end portion of the bent portion, wherein an inside part of thebent portion may be provided with a shock absorbing means such that theshock absorbing means contacts the cam.

Each of the landing wheel arms may have a bent portion having a partbent to have an L shape or a C shape between an upper end portion and alower end portion of the bent portion, wherein an inside part of thebent portion may be provided with a shock absorbing means such that theshock absorbing means contacts the piston rod.

The shock absorbing means may be a leaf spring having one end coupled toa corresponding one of the landing wheel arms and an opposite end, theopposite end being a free end.

The leaf spring may have a plurality of leaf springs arranged inparallel.

The shock absorbing means may include: a leaf spring having an upper endportion hinged to the upper end of a corresponding one of the landingwheel arms, the leaf spring being formed in a curved shape along acurvature of the corresponding one of the landing wheel arms; and a coilspring having an upper end coupled to a lower end portion of the leafspring and a lower end coupled to the corresponding one of the landingwheel arms, the coil spring being elastically arranged between the leafspring and the corresponding one of the landing wheel arms.

Preferably, the bike further includes an automatic upright positioncontrol/maintenance system configured to measure a degree of inclinationof the bike to a left side or a right side with respect to an uprightposition of the bike, wherein the automatic upright positioncontrol/maintenance system and the controller are connected to eachother, wherein the controller lowers only the left landing wheel whenthe bike is inclined to the left side by a predetermined angle or moreand lowers only the right landing wheel when the bike is inclined to theright side by the predetermined angle or more.

Preferably, when the bike is further inclined to the left side by apreset angle after the left landing wheel is lowered according toinclination of the bike to the left side by the predetermined angle ormore, the controller raises the right landing wheel, wherein, when thebike is further inclined to the right side by the preset angle after theright landing wheel is lowered according to inclination of the bike tothe right side by the predetermined angle or more, the controller raisesthe right landing wheel.

Preferably, the automatic upright position control/maintenance systemincludes: a pendulum coupled to a rotation shaft so as to be freelyrotatable left or right and kept positioned on a vertical line even ifthe bike is tilted by a weight thereof; an electrode rod coupled to thependulum to move together with the pendulum; a center electrode platefixedly installed on the bike so as to contact the electrode rod whenthe bike is positioned upright; and an electrode substrate arranged inseries on a left side or right side of the center electrode plate andfixedly installed on the bike to make a contact with the electrode rodwhen the bike is inclined leftward and rightward by a certain angle ormore, wherein the electrode rod contacts the center electrode platewithin a certain range of inclination with respect to an uprightposition of the bike, wherein the electrode substrate includes aplurality of electrode substrates, and the electrode substratecontacting the electrode rod varies among the plurality of electrodesubstrates according to a degree of inclination of the electrode rod,such that a degree of inclination of the bike is identified.

Preferably, the automatic landing wheel apparatus includes a leftlanding wheel apparatus and a right landing wheel apparatus, wherein theleft landing wheel apparatus includes the left landing wheel arm and theleft landing wheel, and is coupled to a guide linearly movable to theleft or right through the left side trunk so as to move to the left orright, wherein the right landing wheel apparatus includes the rightlanding wheel arm, the right landing wheel, and the right drive unit,and is coupled to a guide linearly movable to the left or right throughthe right side trunk so as to move to the left or right.

Preferably, a left rack is coupled to a right side of the left landingwheel apparatus and a right rack is coupled to a left side of the rightlanding wheel apparatus, wherein the automatic landing wheel apparatusincludes a pinion engaging with the left rack and the right rack, and amotor configured to drive the pinion, wherein the motor is driven tobring the left landing wheel apparatus and the right landing wheelapparatus close to or away from each other at the same time.

Advantageous Effects

As apparent from the foregoing, the present invention advantageouslyprovides a bike having the automatic landing wheel apparatus including acanopy. Thereby, the bike may protect the rider's body from rain, snow,cold, heat, etc., prevent accidents by automatically or manuallymaintaining the upright position of the two-wheeled vehicle duringtravel without causing the rider to laboriously use the rider's body tomaintain the upright position of the two-wheeled vehicle, andimplementing the aforementioned functions at low cost by installing anautomatic landing wheel in the trunk of the canopy while remarkablyreducing air resistance through a streamlined shape.

According to the present invention, the left and right landing wheelssupport the bike with the same magnitude of force under a normal roadtravel condition, and rise upward at a travel speed higher than apredetermined speed to allow efficient driving during high speed travel,and the landing wheel arms are flexibly operated so as not todeteriorate the characteristics of the bike such that the shocktransmitted to the body is absorbed when the bike travels on uneventerrain at low speed with the landing wheels deployed. Thereby, safetymay be ensured, and flexible driving may be implemented.

In addition, under harsh driving conditions such as severe road surfaceunevenness and a slippery road surface, a flexible working arm canoperate so as to be adapted to external uneven terrain through operationof a control system that complements operation of a mechanism using asimple multi-leaf spring and coil spring mounted on an automaticmechanical C- or L-shaped arm. Thereby, the impact force on the uneventerrain can be effectively absorbed to ensure stable riding. Further,the function of maintaining the upright position of the bike duringtravel is not limited, and a flexible and strong function of a stand canbe implemented. Therefore, heavy bikes can be easily operated even bythe elderly and women. In addition, the user can set the operation ofthe landing wheel arm selectively to the automatic mode or the manualmode depending on driving conditions. Accordingly, more stable anddynamic driving can be implemented according to driving conditions.

In addition, the functions of preventing slippage and maintaining thebalance and automatically maintaining the upright position can be stablyperformed by an extendable ski device which can be detachably attachedto the landing wheel arm. Thereby, straightforward movement of the bikecan be enhanced, and thus more stable driving can be implemented.

Due to the open autonomy, dynamic maneuverability, speed, and excellentmobility on narrow roads as provided to riders of the two-wheeled bike,the number of bike enthusiasts is increasing although bikes are weakerthan four-wheeled vehicles in terms of safety and users are exposed tomany risks of serious injury.

Accordingly, there is a need to secure safety above all else whilesatisfying the mobility and flexibility unique to the bike. With theapparatus according to the present invention, safety as high as that ofa four-wheeled vehicle can be secured, while maintaining mobility andflexibility unique to bikes. Further, as an inner space surrounded bythe canopy is provided, convenience as provided by four-wheeled vehiclescan be provided in very cold weather and extreme hot weather, andinconvenience of wearing a helmet can be eliminated. In addition, womenand the elderly can easily operate medium-sized bikes.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are side views showing a bike having an automaticlanding wheel apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 1C to 1E, 1G and 1I are perspective views showing a bike having anautomatic landing wheel apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 1F is a rear view showing a bike having an automatic landing wheelapparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 1H is a bottom view showing a bike having an automatic landingwheel apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2D are perspective views showing an automatic landingwheel apparatus provided to a bike according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2C is a side view showing the automatic landing wheel apparatusprovided to a bike according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 2E and 2F are perspective views showing an automatic landing wheelapparatus provided to a bike according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are perspective views showing an automatic verticalposition control/maintenance system of a bike having an automaticlanding wheel apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 3D is a front view showing the automatic vertical positioncontrol/maintenance system of a bike having an automatic landing wheelapparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are perspective views showing bike skis and an extensiondevice of a bike having an automatic landing wheel apparatus accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view illustrating a control unit of a bikehaving an automatic landing wheel apparatus according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing a pedal portion of a bike havingan automatic landing wheel apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5c is a perspective view showing a window brush of a bike having anautomatic landing wheel apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the automatic landing wheel apparatusprovided to a bike according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7A to 7C are perspective views illustrating an energy recoveryapparatus for the bike having the automatic landing wheel apparatusaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are operational circuit diagrams of a bike having anautomatic landing wheel apparatus according to the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals 6: Camshaft 7: Landing wheel arm 8:Drive shaft 10: Pinion 11: Rack LM: LM Guide 14: Generator combinedmotor HL: Hand lever 15: Wire 19: Leaf spring 24: Cam case 25: Landingwheel 29: Rotating wheel 31: Landing motor 35: Reduction gear unit 35a:Driven gear 35b: Driving gear 38: Speedometer 39: Solenoid 42: Electrodesubstrate 43: Electrode rod 45: Center electrode plate 47: Pendulum 51:Relay 51a: ON contact portion 51c: Coil 55: Landing wheel switch 55c:Transfer contact portion 56-1: Extension switch 57-1: Contract switch57: Limit switch 58t: Throttle switch 59: Forced landing switch 60: Fuse68: Ski landing switch 92: NC contact portion 101: Front wheelback-and-forth drive accelerator 175: Air tank 179: Connecting cam 180:Drive wheel 181: Compressor support 240: Cylinder 245: Intake port 246:Exhaust port 248: Connecting rod 250: Cam 251: Pull spring 252: Sidetrunk 253: Rear wheel drive shaft pulley 350, 351: Window Brush 360:Reducer 361: Shaft 370: Brush motor 380: Bike skis 381: Ski mount socket382: Detachable lever eb: Foot deceleration pedal bk: Brake

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1A to 1I show a bike provided with a canopy enclosing the wholebike. As the canopy is mounted on the entire bike, and the rider's footcannot reach the ground when the door is closed, the rider cannot usehis/her legs to maintain the upright position of the bike. For thisreason, a pair of left and right automatic landing wheels 25 contactsthe ground to keep the bike upright when the bike stops or travels.

In contrast with the conventional cases where the upright position ofthe bike was supported by the rider's legs, the bike can be stopped ormoved while the landing wheels 25 are controlled to contact the groundby an automatic upright position maintenance circuit of FIGS. 8A and 8B.When the landing wheels 25 are in the automatic mode, the occupant cantravel like travel in a four-wheeled vehicle, and thus does not need tomake an effort to keep the bike upright.

The present invention provides an apparatus having left and rightlanding wheels 25 that are independently driven to be lowered to ensuresafe driving with the body of a two-wheeled vehicle kept upright whentwo-wheeled vehicle travels at a low speed at which it is difficult tobalance the two-wheeled vehicle. The apparatus is provided with anautomatic upright position control/maintenance system for enhancingstability of the center of gravity of the vehicle body when thetwo-wheeled vehicle travels along a laterally inclined road.

The left and right landing wheels 25 are controlled by the automaticupright position control/maintenance system to maintain the uprightposition of the vehicle body by automatically contacting the ground whenthe vehicle speed is below a set vehicle and to automatically rise to asafe position and automatically respond to uneven terrain when thevehicle speed is above the set vehicle speed.

When the two-wheeled vehicle is driven at a high speed, the two-wheeledvehicle as shown in FIG. 1A consumes less energy than a four-wheeledvehicle, and thus has excellent efficiency, and the rider can enjoytypical sensation of speed provided by two-wheeled vehicles. Inaddition, when the speed decreases below 15 km/h, the landing wheels 25are semi-landed so as not to cause inconvenience in autonomous drivingof the driver who is flexible regarding centripetal force andcentrifugal force and so as to achieve a safe landing angle, which is abasic anti-rollover angle in case of emergency. Thus, the two-wheeledvehicle provides the driver with flexibility in driving without turningover. Semi-landing refers to a state in which the automatic landingwheels 25 float slightly above the ground without touching the groundwhile the bike maintains the upright position.

Whether or not to land the landing wheels and the duration of landingare determined by a speed sensing circuit of FIG. 8B. In FIG. 2D, whenthe cam is at position a, the landing wheels are in a semi-landingstate, and the bike is flexibly supported by spring tension so as not toturn over even if the bike tilts to one side. In addition, theground-responsive automatic upright position control/maintenance systemusing gravity as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3D automatically maintains thesafe landing angle.

When the bike travels at 0 to 5 km/h and is thus almost stationary or isfully stopped, the landing wheels 25 are controlled to completely landon the ground.

When the speed increases above 15 km/h, the landing wheels 25 in thesemi-landing state in which the automatic landing wheels 25 floatslightly above the ground preliminarily rise such that the lower ends ofthe landing wheels 25 are positioned on line h in FIG. 2C. At thepreliminarily raised position, the landing motor 31 is in the ON state.However, when the speed increases above 60 km/h, the landing wheels 25are maintained at the fully raised position. At this time, the landingmotor 31 is turned off.

When the user switches the forced landing switch 59 shown in FIG. 5A tothe downward position, the semi-landing or preliminary rising state ismaintained only at 60 km/h or less. At a speed above 60 km/h, full riseis realized, thereby enhancing stability of high-speed travel.

The speedometer 38 shown in FIG. 5A transmits a signal to the speedsensing circuit when the speed of the bike reaches a predeterminedvalue. In FIG. 8B, when the speed of the bike is greater than or equalto 60 km/h, the output voltage of the lamp coil 810 becomes greater thanor equal to a predetermined value, and the relay 90 controls the NCcontact portion 92 to maintain the full rise. In this state, the landingmotor 31 is turned off, and the landing wheel 25 is not operated todescend.

When the bike speed decreases, the output voltage of the lamp coil 810also decreases. When the output voltage drops below a predeterminedvalue to release the relay 90, the NC contact portion 92 allows thelanding motor 31 for driving the landing wheel arm 7 to become operable.

Circuit diagram 2 of FIG. 8A shows a control circuit of the landingmotor 31 for driving the landing wheels 25. One lead of the landingmotor 31 is connected to the positive terminal of a battery through theON contact portion 51 a of the relay 51 and the negative terminal of thebattery is grounded through the body of the contact portion. The otherlead of the landing motor 31 is connected to the positive terminal ofthe battery 52 through the ON contact portion 53 a of the relay 53 andis connected to the negative terminal of the battery through the NCcontact portion 53 b of the relay 53.

One end of the coil 51 c of the relay 51 is connected to the contactportion 55 a of the landing wheel switch 58 to pivot the landing wheel25 to the landing position, and the other end of the coil is connectedto the limit switch 57, which determines when the stand is in theextended position. In contrast, one end of the coil 53 c of the relay 53is connected to the transfer contact portion 55 b of the landing wheelswitch 58 to pivot the stand to the raised position, and the other endof the coil is connected to the negative terminal of the battery 52through the limit switch 57, which determines when the stand is in theraised position. The transfer contact portion 55 c of the landing wheelswitch 58 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery via thethrottle switch 58, the forced landing switch 59 and the fuse 60.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the landing wheel switch 58 is located in thesteering wheel switch bundle for easy access by the driver and regulatesthe operation of the landing wheel 25. The rotated position of the cam250 in FIG. 2D is sensed using the limit switch 57 or an attachableproximity sensor.

The limit switch 57 and the drive gear 35 b, which is rotatablyinstalled, are provided inside the cam case 24 in FIG. 1D. When thelanding wheels 25 are fully landed on the ground, the limit switch 57 isturned off by touching the portion c of FIG. 2D. The limit switch 57 isalso turned off by touching the portion d of FIG. 2D when the landingwheels 25 are fully raised.

The extension switch 56-1 of FIG. 5A is used to laterally extend theextendable ski device from position 12 to position 13 in FIG. 1D. Theextendable ski device is extendable when the rotation angle of thelanding wheels 25 is at positions a and b in FIG. 2D, and the speed ofthe bike is 60 km/h or less. The extendable ski device contracts forsafety when the speed is higher than a set speed.

The extension switch 56-1 is turned off when the landing wheel 25 isextended, and the contraction switch 57-1 is turned off when the landingwheel 25 is contracted. Both switches are turned on when the contactpoints of the cam 250 and the switch 57 are at positions a, b and c inFIG. 2D. The landing wheels 25 are pivoted between the lowered positionand the raised position and stop at two positions that are adjusted bythe limit switch 57.

The speed sensing circuit in circuit diagram 3 of FIG. 8B determineswhether the vehicle is moved at a high speed, slowed down or stopped.The amperage of the speedometer 38 is measured. When the speed is higherthan or equal to 60 km/h, the landing wheels are at the fully raisedposition. When the speed is between 15 km/h and 60 km/h, the landingwheels are at the preliminarily raised position. When the speed isbetween 5 km/h and 15 km/h, the landing wheels are at the semi-landingposition. When the speed is between 0 km/h and 5 km/h, the landingwheels are at the full landing position.

When the amperage of the speedometer 38 rises according to increase inspeed, and thus the landing wheel switch 58 is rotated to the raisedposition, the current is supplied from the battery to the coil 51 c ofthe relay via a closed circuit consisting of the landing wheel switch 58and the limit switch 57. As a result, the ON contact portion 51 a isclosed to operate the landing motor 31 and the solenoid. The rotationalforce of the landing motor 31 is transmitted to the drive gear 35 b,which takes the form of a worm gear, via the reduction gear unit 35.Then, the driven gear 35 a in the form of a worm gear engaged with thedrive gear 35 b rotates a gear arranged to rotate about the camshaft 6.Thereby, the camshaft 6 is rotated and thus the cam 250 rotating aboutthe camshaft 6 at the outer side of the cam case 24 rotates. Rotation ofthe cam 250 and the action of the pull spring 251 cause the landingwheel arm 7 to pivot such that the landing wheels 25 are pivoted.

As shown in FIG. 2F, one end of the pull spring 251 is hinged to theinner surface of the cam case 24, and the other end of the pull springis hinged to the inner surface of the lower portion of the landing wheelarm 7. Thus, the pull spring exerts pulling force on the landing wheels25 upward. Thus, when the cam 250 rotates and pushes the landing wheelarm 7, the landing wheels 25 are lowered. When the cam 250 rotates tothe opposite position and thus the force pushing the landing wheels 25is removed, the landing wheels 25 are raised by the action of the pullspring 251 in proportion to the rotation of the cam 250 to the oppositeposition.

The pivoting motion driven by the landing motor 31 is stopped when thelimit switch 57 detects complete rise of the landing wheels 25. When thebike is in the standing state, in which the bike is stopped, thesolenoid 39 and the landing motor 31 are turned off, and then thestanding state is maintained by the safety clamp wire connected with thefoot brake. When the bike is turned on and power is supplied, thelanding wheels 25 may return to the drive preparation step.

The landing wheels 25 can be returned to the raised position by thelanding motor 31. When the limit switch 57 is ON, the landing wheel arm7 is rotated to the raised position. The relay 53 is operated to closethe ON contact portion 53 a. As a result, the current flows to thelanding motor 31 on the opposite side and the landing wheels 25 arepivoted to the raised position.

As shown in circuit diagram 1 and circuit diagram 2, if the speed of thebike is 0 km/h, the vertical angle of the bike is in the range of 0 to 2degrees and the landing wheels 25 are at the fully lowered position, thepower to the bike is ready to be cut off and the limit switch 57interrupts the current flow to the landing motor 31. The powerinterruption is affected only when the throttle switch 58 t is at the ONposition and the vehicle is stopped.

The speed sensing circuit of the bike is located between the speedometer38 and the landing wheel switch 58. The speed sensing circuit operateswhen the bike speed decreases to a preset limit value or less. When thespeed sensing circuit is operated, the motor pivots the landing wheels25.

The landing wheels 25 are driven to rise when the speed of the bike ishigher than or equal to a set value in the ON state of the automaticswitch. The landing wheels 25 are driven to descend when the speed ofthe bike is less than or equal to a set value.

Although an NC relay driven by an AC generator is illustrated in thecircuit diagram in FIG. 8B as being used, a DC relay can also be used.When the bike speed drops below the set value, allowable power isapplied such that the landing wheels 25 are lowered. The NC contactportion 92 is connected to the battery via the forced landing switch 59and the fuse 60 and is connected to the transfer contact portion 55 cvia the DC relay.

According to the above-described configuration, the landing wheel arm 7and the landing motor 31 are connected such that the operation of theautomatic landing wheel apparatus is performed based on the speedincrease/decrease of the bike speedometer 38. In addition, theconnection operation is performed by a control circuit, and accordinglythe landing wheels 25 and the landing motor 31 can be connected ordisconnected directly by the control circuit. In particular, theautomatic operation mode of the control circuit is operatively connectedwith change in speed of the bike. Therefore, if the control circuit isnot operated due to failure or the like, the landing wheels 25 can bemanually operated using the up/down switch without disassembling theapparatus.

Further, since the structure allows the control circuit to be operatedby operation of the driver, the driver can recognize the operation, andoperational stability of the landing wheels 25 can be further enhanced.

In the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2C, in driving thelanding wheels 25 mounted so as to maintain the lateral safety distance,which is the distance between the left and right landing wheels 25, tomaintain the bike at the upright position, several sheets of leafsprings 19 are stacked to function as a shock absorbing means in orderto cope with the ground surface, which momentarily varies. The number ofstacked leaf springs 19 can be adjusted depending on the weight of thebike.

In order for the leaf springs 19 to be arranged on the landing wheel arm7 to function as a shock absorbing means, the landing wheel arm 7 isgradually lowered from the rotation shaft of the landing wheel arm 7 andis suddenly bent backward, thereby having an L-shape or a C-shape. Theleaf springs 19 are inserted into the bent portion of the landing wheelarm 7 which is bent in the L-shape or a C-shape. The lower end of theleaf springs 19 is fixedly engaged with the lower portion of the bentportion of the landing wheel arm 7 and the upper end of the leaf springs19 is a free end that is positioned close to the upper portion of thebend portion of the landing wheel arm 7, but is not engaged with theupper portion. The leaf spring 19 is installed so as to be inclinedobliquely downward as it extends from the front side to the rear side inthe inside of the bent portion.

The leaf spring 19 is a shock absorbing means for allowing the landingwheel arm 7 in the vertical position to move smoothly in the up-and-downdirection. It is also possible to use a coil spring instead of the leafspring 19 as the shock absorbing means.

Reference numerals 19-1, 19-2, 19-3, and 19-4 in FIG. 2A denote leafsprings that are arranged side by side. When the landing motor 31 isdriven, the cam 250 rotates to push the leaf spring 19-1, which is incontact with the cam 250. When the load applied to the leaf spring issmall, only the leaf spring 19-1 at the uppermost position is pressed,and thus only one leaf spring 19-1 performs the shock absorptionfunction to keep the bike upright. When the load applied to the leafspring is increased by rotation of the cam 250, the first leaf spring19-1 and the second leaf spring 19-2 are both pressed. When the largestload is applied, all the leaf springs 19-1, 19-2, 19-3 and 19-4 arepressed to most strongly attenuate shock.

In the case of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 2E and 2F, indriving the landing wheels 25 for maintaining the upright position, theshock absorbing means composed of leaf springs and a coil springnecessary for coping with momentary changes of the ground is provided ineach of the left landing wheel apparatus and the right landing wheelapparatus.

In order to mount each shock absorbing means on the landing wheel arm 7,it is necessary to form a clearance for mounting the shock absorbingmeans on the landing wheel arm 7. Accordingly, the landing wheel arm 7is bent in an L-shape or a C-shape to form a bent portion and the shockabsorbing means is installed inside the bent portion.

In the shock absorbing means, the lower end of the coil spring isengaged with the upper surface of the lower end portion, namely the freeend, of the landing wheel arm 7 such that the left and right landingwheel arms 7 which are in the vertical position can be smoothly drivenin the vertical direction. The leaf springs are bent in in an L-shape ora C-shape similar to the shape of the landing wheel arm 7 and arearranged above the landing wheel arm 7 with a narrow gap formed betweenthe leaf springs and the landing wheel arm 7. The upper end of the leafsprings is hinged to a portion adjacent to the rotation shaft of thelanding wheel arm 7 and the lower end, namely the free end, of the leafsprings is engaged with the upper end of the coil spring. Thus, the coilspring functions to absorb shock between the leaf springs and thelanding wheel arm 7.

When the cam 250 rotates in the forward direction to press down the leafsprings, the leaf springs and the coil spring press down the landingwheel arm 7. Then, the landing wheel arm 7 is rotated downward. When thecam 250 rotates in the reverse direction, the landing wheel arm 7 ispulled upward by the pull spring 251, and is thus raised.

When the bike maintaining the upright position encounters severelyuneven terrain, the left and right landing wheels 25 need to be lowereddifferently. As a means to cope with irregular terrain, an automaticupright position control/maintenance system is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3A, a pendulum 47 and an electrode rod 43, which arecoupled to each other to move integrally, are rotatably coupled to thecenter of the automatic upright position control/maintenance system, andthe pendulum 47 and the electrode rod 43 are automatically rotated andalways positioned on the vertical line even if the bike is tilted to theleft side or the right side by the weight of the pendulum 47.

As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, electrode substrates and a center electrodesubstrate 45 are combined to form a semicircular shape. The centerelectrode substrate 45, which is located at the center between the leftand right sides, is arranged in an arc shape at the lowermost position.The electrode substrates 42 are arranged in series on each of the leftand right sides of the center electrode substrate 45. The electrodesubstrate 42 and the center electrode substrate 45 are formed by fiveseparate copper plates. As shown in FIG. 3D, the substrates are dividedinto five regions: region K, region L, region R, region L-R, and regionR-L.

The electrode rod 43 is a copper electrode rod. The electrode rod 43 isbrought into contact with the front surface of an electrode substrate inany one of the five regions. When electricity is applied to theelectrode substrate which is in contact with the electrode rod 43, thedegree of tilt of the bike is sensed.

When the electrode rod 43 enters region K in the center electrodesubstrate 45 at an angle within 2° from the vertical line with respectto the driver, the left and right landing motors 31 are driven togetherto lower both left and right landing wheels to the ground at the sametime. Thereby, the upright position of the bike is maintained within arange of 0° to 2°.

As shown in FIG. 3D, when the bike is inclined to the left to form avertical angle between 2° and 5° and thus the electrode rod 43 entersregion L, the landing motor 31 on the left side is driven as the switch(s/w) of the automatic upright position control/maintenance system isset in the ON state, that is, the power supplied state, and the verticalangle of the bike is between 0° to 1°. On the other hand, the landingmotor 31 on the right side is not driven and the switch (s/w) is set inthe OFF state, that is, the power interrupted state. Accordingly, onlythe left landing wheel 25 is lowered to shift the tilt angle to theright to maintain the upright position.

Here, sensitivity of the tilt operating angle can be adjusted accordingto the user's preference, using an adjustment rod mounted on thependulum 47 of the automatic upright position control/maintenancesystem.

When the bike is inclined to the left to form a vertical angle greaterthan or equal to 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region L-R, thelanding motor 31 on the left side is set in the switch (s/w) ON state ofthe automatic upright position control/maintenance system, and is thusdriven to set the vertical angle in a range between 0′ and 1′. On theother hand, the landing motor 31 on the right side rotatescounterclockwise (ccw) such that the right landing wheel 25 rises tocorrespond to the ground surfaces on the left and right sides of thebike. At this time, the right landing wheel 25 is maintained to beflexible as it is affected by the tensional force of the leaf spring 19.At this time, the right landing motor is set in the switching (s/w) ONstate to rotate counterclockwise (ccw) in the power supplied state.Thereby, the landing motor 31 on the right side shifts the tilt angle tothe right. When the tilt angle re-enters the region of the centerelectrode plate 45, which is between 0′ and 2′, according to the aboveoperations, the automatic upright position control/maintenance systemperforms switching to rotate the motor clockwise (cw). Thereby, thelanding wheels 25 are brought into close contact with the ground and thebike automatically maintains the upright position.

That is, when the bike passes over, for example, a depressed portion ofa road and thus the bike is inclined to form a vertical angle greaterthan or equal to 2′, it is necessary to lower a landing wheel 25 on oneside more than when the landing wheels 25 are fully landed on flatground. In addition, if the bike is inclined to one side to form avertical angle greater than or equal to 5′, this means that the bike ispassing a road surface that is significantly tilted. Accordingly, inthis case, one landing wheels 25 is lowered to touch the ground surface,and the landing wheel 25 on the opposite side is raised so as to keepthe bike as close to the upright position as possible.

When the bike is inclined to the right side to form a vertical anglebetween 2′ to 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region R, thelanding motor 31 on the right side is set in the switch (s/w) ON stateof the automatic upright position control/maintenance system, that is,the power supplied state, and is thus driven to set the vertical angleof the bike in a range between 0′ and 1′. On the other hand, the landingmotor 31 on the left side is not driven but is set in the switch (s/w)OFF state, that is, the power interrupted state. Accordingly, only thelanding wheel 25 on the right side is lowered to shift the tilt angle tothe left side to maintain the upright position.

When the bike is inclined to the right to form a vertical angle greaterthan or equal to 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region R-L, thelanding motor 31 on the right side is set in the switch (s/w) ON stateof the automatic upright position control/maintenance system, and isthus driven to set the vertical angle in a range between 0′ and 1′. Onthe other hand, the landing motor 31 on the left side rotatescounterclockwise (ccw) such that the left landing wheels 25 rises tocorrespond to the ground surfaces on the left and right sides of thebike. At this time, the left landing wheel 25 is maintained to beflexible as it is affected by the tensional force of the leaf spring 19.At this time, the left landing motor is set in the switch (s/w) ON stateto rotate counterclockwise (ccw) in the power supplied state. Thereby,the left landing motor 31 shifts the tilt angle. As a result, when thetilt angle re-enters the region of the center electrode plate 45, whichis between 0′ and 2′, the automatic upright position control/maintenancesystem performs switching to rotate the motor clockwise (cw). Then, thelanding wheels 25 are brought into close contact with the ground and thebike automatically maintains the upright position.

FIG. 4B shows the left and right landing wheels 25 configured to beextended and contracted between the positions denoted by referencenumerals 12 and 13 by the rack 11 and the pinion 10. The left and rightlanding wheels 25 can be automatically extended by the pinion 10 and themotor mounted thereon, or the extension can be manually operated byturning off the extension switch 56-1 and the contraction switch 57-1.The rack 11 includes a left rack and a right rack. The left end of theright rack 11 engages with the left automatic landing wheel apparatusand the right end of the left rack 11 engages with the right automaticlanding wheel apparatus. Thus, when the pinion 10 rotates, the left andright racks 11 are simultaneously operated to widen or narrow the gaptherebetween. When the gap between the left and right racks 11 ismaximally narrowed, the left and right automatic landing wheelapparatuses are housed inside the side trunk 252.

The ascending and descending movements of the automatic landing wheelapparatus are sufficient to cope with most common road surfaces.However, when the bike is driven or parked on very unusual terrain, suchas muddy or mountain roads or unstable slopes, the safe distance betweenthe left and right landing wheels 25 can be further increased with asingle button to provide a safe angle greater than the normal safetyangle. Thereby, a safety angle for ensuring that the bike will not fallcan be provided even if the landing motors 31 fail.

The side trunk 252 provided below both side portions of the canopy bodyhas a space that can accommodate the automatic landing wheelapparatuses. The side trunk 252 is provided on each of the left andright sides, and is penetrated by an LM guide LM, which extends a longdistance in a lateral direction. The LM guide LM serves as a guide forallowing the automatic landing wheel apparatuses to move linearly in theleft and right directions when the automatic landing wheel apparatusesmove left and right according to movement of the rack 11.

FIG. 6 shows a landing wheel arm mechanismdriven by an air cylinderaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment described above, the landing wheel arm 7 is driven bythe landing motor 31 capable of rotating in the forward and reversedirections. In the second embodiment, however, the landing wheel arm 7is driven by a cylinder 240 using compressed air from a tank in whichair is stored, or hydraulic fluid.

The cylinder-type driving system is operated by compressed air orhydraulic fluid supplied from the cylinder 240, and therefore requiresadditional facilities. To this end, a compressor and an air tank areprovided to not only supply compressed air but also to recover energy tobe used for various purposes, as well as to simplify the mechanism.

In the third embodiment, when the bike is inclined to the left to form avertical angle between 2° and 5° and thus the electrode rod 43 entersregion L, the air solenoid valve of the cylinder driving the leftlanding wheel arm 7 is driven. Then, the switch (s/w) is set in the ONstate, namely the power supplied state, and thus power is supplied toset the vertical angle of the bike in a range between 0° and 1°.Thereby, the piston rod of the cylinder 240 driving the left landingwheel arm 7 is pushed and lowered to press the leaf springs. On theother hand, the air solenoid valve of the cylinder for driving the rightlanding wheel arm 7 is not operated and the corresponding switch (s/w)is set in the OFF state, that is, the power interrupted state. Thereby,only the left landing wheel 25 is lowered to shift the tilt angle to theright to maintain the upright position.

When the bike is inclined to the left to form a vertical angle greaterthan or equal to 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region L-R, theair solenoid valve of the cylinder for driving the left landing wheelarm 7 is switched (s/w) on and is driven to set the vertical angle in arange between 0′ and 1′. At this time, the air solenoid valve of thecylinder for driving the right landing wheel arm 7 is also operated.Thereby, the piston rod is raised until it is sensed by the proximitysensor 36, and the right landing wheel 25 is raised by the action of thepull spring. At this time, the right landing wheel 25 is maintained tobe flexible as it is affected by the tensional force of the leaf spring.

When the electrode rod 43 of the automatic upright positioncontrol/maintenance system re-enters the region of the center electrodeplate 45, which is between 0′ and 2′, according to the above operations,the automatic upright position control/maintenance system is switched toapply pressure for forward movement to both cylinders. Thereby, thelanding wheels 25 are brought into close contact with the ground and thebike automatically maintains the upright position.

When the bike is inclined to the right side to form a vertical anglebetween 2′ and 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region R, the airsolenoid valve of the cylinder driving the right landing wheel arm 7 isdriven. Then, the switch (s/w) is set in the ON state, namely the powersupplied state, and thus power is supplied to set the vertical angle ofthe bike in a range between 0° and 1°. Thereby, the piston rod of thecylinder 240 driving the right landing wheel arm 7 is pushed and loweredto press the leaf springs. On the other hand, the air solenoid valve ofthe cylinder for driving the left landing wheel arm 7 is not operatedand the corresponding switch (s/w) is set in the OFF state, that is, thepower interrupted state. Thereby, only the right landing wheel islowered to shift the tilt angle to the right to maintain the uprightposition.

When the bike is inclined to the right to form a vertical angle greaterthan or equal to 5′ and thus the electrode rod 43 enters region R-L, theair solenoid valve of the cylinder for driving the right landing wheelarm 7 is switched (s/w) on and is driven to set the vertical angle in arange between 0′ and 1′. At this time, the air solenoid valve of thecylinder for driving the left landing wheel arm 7 is also operated.Thereby, the piston rod is raised until it is sensed by the proximitysensor 36, and the left landing wheel 25 is raised by the action of thepull spring. At this time, the left landing wheel 25 is maintained to beflexible as it is affected by the tensional force of the leaf spring 19.

When the electrode rod 43 of the automatic upright positioncontrol/maintenance system re-enters the region of the center electrodeplate 45, which is between 0′ and 2′, according to the above operations,the automatic upright position control/maintenance system is switched toapply pressure for forward movement to both cylinders. Thereby, thelanding wheels 25 are brought into close contact with the ground and thebike automatically maintains the upright position.

The third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in thatdriving is performed not by the cam but by the cylinder according toconfiguration of the automatic landing wheel apparatus, but includes ashock absorbing means composed of leaf springs and a coil spring as inthe second embodiment. Thus, description of the shock absorbing meanswill be omitted.

A driver traveling on mountain or downhill roads mainly uses enginebraking to prevent brake pad failure. This is not economical because itconsumes energy while decelerating. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the wire15 is pulled by depressing the brake, the compressor support portion 181performs hinge movement and the rotary wheel coupled to the rotary wheelshaft penetrating the compressor support portion 181 is rotated whilerubbing against the drive wheel 180, which is coupled to and rotatedtogether with the rear wheel drive shaft pulley 253. Thereby, theconnecting cam 179 integrally formed with the rotary wheel shaft alsorotates, thereby reciprocating the connecting cam 179, which protrudesforward of the compressor, back and forth. Then, the piston coupled withthe rear end of the connecting rod 248 compresses the air introducedinto the cylinder through the intake port 245 provided at the rear endof the cylinder such that the air is discharged through the exhaust port246, which is provided at the rear end of the cylinder.

One of the shafts protrudes from both sides of the connecting cam 179.One of the shafts is the rotary wheel shaft, and is coupled to therotary wheel 29, and the other shaft is rotatably coupled to the hole ata terminal end of the connecting rod 248.

The exhaust port 246 is connected to the air hose, and thus thecompressed air is stored in the air tank 175 through the air hose. Theair stored in the air tank can be used as compressed air required fordriving the landing wheel arm mechanism driven by the air cylinderaccording to the third embodiment and can be used to provide drivingforce for other devices equipped to the bike.

The operation of pulling the wire 15 to make the rotary wheel 29 and thedrive wheel 180 contact each other may be performed by manuallyoperating the hand lever 13 shown in FIG. 5A, or by depressing the footdeceleration pedal eb shown in FIG. 5B using a foot.

When the compressor is used to recover energy and gradually decelerate,the foot deceleration pedal eb is depressed slightly such that the brakebk under the foot deceleration pedal eb does not descend. In performingsudden braking, the foot deceleration pedal eb is greatly depressed suchthat the brake bk under the foot deceleration pedal eb is operated.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the compressor is moved from position 16 toposition 17 by the pulling action of the wire 15 and thus the rotarywheel 29 is brought into contact with the drive wheel 180, rotationaldriving force is obtained. Thus, the power obtained by decelerating thebike is used to operate the compressor to compress the air and to storethe air in the air tank 175 in FIG. 1A such that the air is used whennecessary.

As shown in FIG. 7A, another connecting cam 179 connected to theconnecting rod 248 and rotating along with rotation of the connectingrod 248 is installed outside the connecting rod. The center shaft of theconnecting cam 179 installed on the outside may be connected to thegenerator combined motor 14 installed at the outermost side and capableof operating as a generator and thus can convert rotational force intoelectricity.

When the generator combined motor 14 is not in use as a generator, thegenerator 14 automatically rotates to reciprocate the connecting rod 248if the pressure drops. Thereby, compressed air is generated to maintainthe pressure in the air tank 175 at a predetermined value or more.

When the vehicle runs on snowy roads or icy roads, the bike ski 380shown in FIG. 1B can be mounted and the landing wheels 25 can beextended to the left and right sides to prevent the bike running on thesnowy or icy road from slipping and falling to one side or from turningover, which is critical to the bike. Thereby, a safer ride can befacilitated.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the bike ski 380 is mounted on the landing wheelarms 7 and is arranged in the space between the left and right landingwheels 25 so as to be adjacent to the landing wheels 25. The ski landingswitch 68 shown in FIG. 5A can be used to land the bike ski 380 on asnowy road and an icy road at a bike speed up to 60 km/h in order toprevent the bike from falling to the left or right side.

The bike ski 380 is mounted on a square pipe-shaped ski mount socket381, which is vertically arranged at parts of the left and right landingwheel arms 7 that are not visible from the outside. Adjustment holespenetrating the ski mount socket 381 in the front-rear direction areformed at intervals in the front and rear surfaces of the ski mountsocket 381 and arranged spaced apart from each other in the verticaldirection.

The bike ski 380 is a flat plate-like member similar in shape to atypical ski elongated in the front-back direction. The front and rearend portions of the bike ski 380 are curved upward and the front part ofthe upper surface of the bike ski 380 is coupled with the lower endportion of the ski leg. The bike ski 380 and the ski leg are hinged soas to pivot about a horizontally arranged shaft.

The upper end portion of the ski leg is curved outward in a squarebracket shape to form an insertion member, which is a part extending inparallel with the ski leg. The upper surface of the insertion member isprovided with a hole, and an inner space communicating with the hole isdefined on the upper surface. The front and back surfaces of theinsertion member are provided with multiple adjustment holes 385, whichare vertically arranged spaced apart from each other so as tocommunicate with the inner space of the insertion member.

An elastic attachable lever 382 having an open upper end that is formedin the shape of tongs and is narrowed when pressed on both sides isdetachably inserted into the upper surface hole of the insertion member.Each of the front and rear parts of the attachable lever 382 is providedwith a pair of protrusions. Thus, when the attachable lever 382stretches out with the insertion member inserted into the ski mountsocket 381, the protrusions are inserted into the adjustment holes ofthe ski mount socket 381 and the adjustment holes of the insertionmember such that the insertion member is fixed so as not to verticallymove. When the attachable lever 382 is pressed and the protrusions arereleased from the adjustment holes 385, the insertion member can beremoved from the ski mount socket 381. The installation height of thebike ski 380 can be adjusted by adjusting the insertion depth of theinsertion member while the attachable lever 382 is pressed.

In a typical environment, the bike ski 380 is preferably installed about2 to 3 mm below the landing wheels to reach the ground earlier than thelanding wheels.

As such, the bike skis 380 can be easily mounted or removed using theattachable lever 382 which is economical and designed to be simple toattach and detach and highly durable. In addition, the vertical positionof the bike ski 380 can be adjusted position according to the amount ofsnow.

Since the bike ski 380 ascends or descends when the landing wheels 25are raised or lowered, the bike ski 380 can be easily raised and loweredon a locally intermittently frozen road surface. Therefore, the rearwheels may be prevented from slipping to the left or right side duringtravel, and the bike ski can be quickly raised on a ground that is notslippery, such that the bike can run at a normal speed.

If the canopy is installed, a window brush for a bike is required tosecure the front view when it snows or rains. The window brush needs tobe provided with a narrow width to fit the bike.

As shown in FIG. 5C, a shaft 361 extending in the left-right directionis provided so as to be rotated in both forward and reverse directionsby a brush motor 370, and both ends of the shaft 361 are connected tothe left and right window brushes 350 and 351, respectively.Accordingly, the window brushes 350 and 351 on both sides are operatedsimultaneously using only one brush motor 370 and the speed reducer 360rather than using two motors. They are also economically configured tobe able to wipe off the outside of the spherical windshield. Therefore,a clear view can be secured for the driver during rainy weather.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

1. A bike having an automatic landing wheel apparatus comprising: a leftlanding wheel arm provided at a left side of the bike and having a lowerend portion rotatably coupled with a left landing wheel to move the leftlanding wheel up and down; a right landing wheel arm provided at a rightside of the bike and having a lower end portion rotatably coupled with aright landing wheel to move the right landing wheel up and down; a leftdrive unit configured to drive the left landing wheel arm to raise andlower the left landing wheel; a right drive unit configured to drive theright landing wheel arm to raise and lower the right landing wheel; aspeed sensor configured to sense a speed of the bike; and a controllerconnected to the speed sensor, the left drive unit and the right driveunit to raise both or one of the left landing wheel and the rightlanding wheel when a speed sensed by the speed sensor exceeds a setspeed and to lower both or one of the left landing wheel and the rightlanding wheel when the speed sensed by the speed sensor becomes the setspeed or less.
 2. The bike according to claim 1, wherein the leftlanding wheel arm has an upper end portion rotatably mounted on a leftside portion of the bike so as to vertically rotate about a shaftextending in a horizontal direction, and the right landing wheel arm hasan upper end portion rotatably mounted on a right side portion of thebike so as to vertically rotate about a shaft extending in a horizontaldirection, wherein the left drive unit is configured to rotate the leftlanding wheel arm in forward and reverse directions, and the right driveunit is configured to rotate the right landing wheel arm in forward andreverse directions.
 3. The bike according to claim 1 or 2, wherein thebike is provided with a canopy having a space for accommodating adriver, wherein each of both side parts of a rear portion of the canopycomprises a side trunk providing a storage space for the automaticlanding wheel apparatus.
 4. The bike according to claim 3, wherein afront portion of the canopy comprises: a windshield having an outersurface matching an outer surface of a part of a spherical body; a pairof left and right windshield wipers curved in an arc shape so as to comeinto close contact with the outer surface of the windshield; and awindshield wiper driving means configured to drive the windshield wipersto reciprocate up and down.
 5. The bike according to claim 2, whereinthe drive unit comprises: a cam configured to receive driving force of alanding motor capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions andto rotate about a horizontal shaft to push and lower the landing wheelarms; and a pull spring configured to pull the landing wheel arms toraise the landing wheel arms when a shortest distance between a rotationcenter of the cam and the cam and the landing wheel arms is reduced. 6.The bike according to claim 2, wherein the drive unit comprises: an aircylinder device capable of raising or lowering a piston rod according toan electric signal, the air cylinder device being configured to lowerthe landing wheel arms when the piston rod is lowered to push thelanding wheel arms; and a pull spring configured to pull the landingwheel arms to raise the landing wheel arms when the piston rod rises. 7.The bike according to claim 5, wherein each of the landing wheel armshas a bent portion having a part bent to have an L shape or a C shapebetween an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the bentportion, wherein an inside part of the bent portion is provided with ashock absorbing means such that the shock absorbing means contacts thecam.
 8. The bike according to claim 6, wherein each of the landing wheelarms has a bent portion having a part bent to have an L shape or a Cshape between an upper end portion and a lower end portion of the bentportion, wherein an inside part of the bent portion is provided with ashock absorbing means such that the shock absorbing means contacts thepiston rod.
 9. The bike according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the shockabsorbing means is a leaf spring having one end coupled to acorresponding one of the landing wheel arms and an opposite end, theopposite end being a free end.
 10. The bike according to claim 9,wherein the leaf spring has a plurality of leaf springs arranged inparallel.
 11. The bike according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the shockabsorbing means comprises: a leaf spring having an upper end portionhinged to the upper end of a corresponding one of the landing wheelarms, the leaf spring being formed in a curved shape along a curvatureof the corresponding one of the landing wheel arms; and a coil springhaving an upper end coupled to a lower end portion of the leaf springand a lower end coupled to the corresponding one of the landing wheelarms, the coil spring being elastically arranged between the leaf springand the corresponding one of the landing wheel arms.
 12. The bikeaccording to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: an automatic uprightposition control/maintenance system configured to measure a degree ofinclination of the bike to a left side or a right side with respect toan upright position of the bike, wherein the automatic upright positioncontrol/maintenance system and the controller are connected to eachother, wherein the controller lowers only the left landing wheel whenthe bike is inclined to the left side by a predetermined angle or moreand lowers only the right landing wheel when the bike is inclined to theright side by the predetermined angle or more.
 13. The bike according toclaim 12, wherein, when the bike is further inclined to the left side bya preset angle after the left landing wheel is lowered according toinclination of the bike to the left side by the predetermined angle ormore, the controller raises the right landing wheel, wherein, when thebike is further inclined to the right side by the preset angle after theright landing wheel is lowered according to inclination of the bike tothe right side by the predetermined angle or more, the controller raisesthe right landing wheel.
 14. The bike according to claim 12, wherein theautomatic upright position control/maintenance system comprises: apendulum coupled to a rotation shaft so as to be freely rotatable leftor right and kept positioned on a vertical line even if the bike istilted by a weight thereof; an electrode rod coupled to the pendulum tomove together with the pendulum; a center electrode plate fixedlyinstalled on the bike so as to contact the electrode rod when the bikeis positioned upright; and an electrode substrate arranged in series ona left side or right side of the center electrode plate and fixedlyinstalled on the bike to make a contact with the electrode rod when thebike is inclined leftward and rightward by a certain angle or more,wherein the electrode rod contacts the center electrode plate within acertain range of inclination with respect to an upright position of thebike, wherein the electrode substrate comprises a plurality of electrodesubstrates, and the electrode substrate contacting the electrode rodvaries among the plurality of electrode substrates according to a degreeof inclination of the electroderod, such that a degree of inclination ofthe bike is identified.
 15. The bike according to claim 3, wherein theautomatic landing wheel apparatus comprises a left landing wheelapparatus and a right landing wheel apparatus, wherein the left landingwheel apparatus comprises the left landing wheel arm, the left landingwheel and the left drive unit, and is coupled to a guide linearlymovable to the left or right through the left side trunk so as to moveto the left or right, wherein the right landing wheel apparatuscomprises the right landing wheel arm, the right landing wheel, and theright drive unit, and is coupled to a guide linearly movable to the leftor right through the right side trunk so as to move to the left orright.
 16. The bike according to claim 15, wherein a left rack iscoupled to a right side of the left landing wheel apparatus and a rightrack is coupled to a left side of the right landing wheel apparatus,wherein the automatic landing wheel apparatus comprises a pinionengaging with the left rack and the right rack, and a motor configuredto drive the pinion, wherein the motor is driven to bring the leftlanding wheel apparatus and the right landing wheel apparatus close toor away from each other at the same time.